How to Recruit Directly from Colleges

Recruiting directly from colleges is a very important part of any company’s long-term development of human resource talent. For a small and medium sized business, this could a crucial recruitment strategy, as it could signify a testing ground for future employees, gauge how best these fresh college graduates could fit into their company and could be retained to fill in future managerial roles. Hence recruiting from colleges directly should be done keeping in mind the long-term managerial needs of the company. Here are the following ways that small and medium sized businesses can recruit directly from colleges: 1. Post job openings on the college website: Most college websites have a separate section dedicated to job openings for students. Make sure you post the job opportunities available at your company with a detailed description and an introduction to your company. It would help to keep the language as simple and friendly as possible. 2. Sponsor college fests: This is by far one of the commonest ways for recruiters to be noticed by the students. Every college has major annual fests for which sponsorships are sought. By sponsoring at least one popular event or being one of the sponsors of the whole event, your company could gain visibility among the college crowd. 3. Post on college notice boards: Most of the college classrooms have notice boards outside of them or in the college galleries. In many cases, these physical notice boards catch the attention of more students than then job postings at the website. Make sure you design a catchy poster announcing the job openings at your company, to be showcased at these boards. You will need to take permission of the college authorities for this one. 4. Ask if the college authorities could make on announcement about job opportunities in your company: Even though many colleges do not have, a morning assembly like schools, many of them do have an efficient announcement system at place. Inquire about the possibility of getting your job posting announced. This would ensure that almost all students hear of it. 5. Post internships for college students during summer: By offering internships to students during their college breaks, you give them a firsthand experience of what working at your office would entail. If the arrangement works, you may even offer them a pre-placement offer after they finish their internships. 6. Participate in campus job fairs: Every year, in most cities, campus job fairs are conducted which brings together fresh graduates and companies looking to hire them. Find out about such events in your city and make sure to attend it. 7. Go as a recruiter during campus placement drives: The campus placement season usually takes place in the last year of college where you could go as a recruiter directly and hire students. This is by far the most popular means of hiring college students but it also means that you would be competing with scores of other companies at the same time, who are vying for the same top talent as your company. 8. Use social media for recruitment: These days, most of the college generation is online on social media. In such a case, contacting them on sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, getting job openings posted on their college social media accounts, and connecting them through other means on social media, could also help in recruiting students directly while also allowing your company to create a ‘social’ and ‘modern’ image for these fresh college students. Lastly, keep in mind that these recruitment efforts are going to be college targeted hence selecting the right colleges would be a very important first stage in the process of hiring directly from colleges.

Information may be abridged and therefore incomplete. This document/information does not constitute, and should not be considered a substitute for, legal or financial advice. Each financial situation is different, the advice provided is intended to be general. Please contact your financial or legal advisors for information specific to your situation.